Targeted acupuncture may offer women with major depression a safe and effective alternative to antidepressant medication, new research suggests.

Investigators at Stanford University School of Medicine in California found that women with major depressive disorder treated with depression-specific acupuncture had a 63% response rate after 12 sessions compared with a 44.3% response rate in 2 combined control groups who were treated with either acupuncture not known to help alleviate depressive symptoms or Swedish massage.

"Pregnancy just by its nature can bring out some underlying psychiatric and emotional issues ... but treatment of depression during pregnancy is critically important so that a woman can maintain her sense of well being and take good care of herself, her fetus and, someday, her child," study coauthor Deirdre Lyell, MD, Stanford University School of Medicine, said in a statement.

Led by Rachel Manber, PhD, the study was published in the March issue of Obstetrics & Gynecology.

Response Rates Significantly Higher

For the study, investigators randomized 150 women whose pregnancies were between 12 and 30 weeks of gestation and who met Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (Fourth Edition) criteria for major depressive disorder and who scored at least 14 on the 17-item Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.

Of the 141 women who eventually entered the study, 52 received depression-specific acupuncture, 49 received control acupuncture, and 49 others received Swedish massage.

Treatments were provided twice a week for the first 4 weeks and then weekly thereafter for 4 additional weeks, with each session lasting about 25 minutes.

The investigators found that response rates were significantly higher in women who received depression-specific acupuncture than for either control group. Response rates in women randomized to the 2 control interventions did not differ significantly from each other at 37.5% for the control acupuncture group vs 50% for the massage group.

On the other hand, remission rates did not differ significantly between women who received depression-specific acupuncture at 34.8% and the combined control groups at 29.5%. They also did not differ between those assigned to the control acupuncture group at 27.5% or the massage group at 31.2%.

Thirty-three of the study participants discontinued treatment before the study endpoint, 30% of them for reasons related to the pregnancy. Some women in both acupuncture groups reported transient discomfort at the point of needle insertion, and 1 woman experienced bleeding at the needle site.

Significantly fewer women who received massage reported any adverse effects compared with the 2 acupuncture groups.

Clinically Meaningful

The study authors point out that the benefits observed with depression-specific acupuncture can be considered "clinically meaningful" when assessed in a broader context of depression studies.

Although there are no randomized controlled trials of antidepressants being used during pregnancy, 1 randomized controlled trial found that interpersonal psychotherapy produced a 52% reduction in Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression scores and a 19% remission rate after 16 weeks of therapy, to which the currently study compares very favorably.

According to the study, antidepressant use during pregnancy doubled between 1999 and 2003, but many women are reluctant to take these medications because of safety concerns. In fact, in this particular study, 94% of the women involved expressed reluctance to take an antidepressant because of their pregnancy.

"Because theres this concern about medication among pregnant women and their physicians, its important to find an alternative," said Dr. Manber.

Results from this study therefore suggest that this standardized acupuncture protocol could be considered a "viable treatment option" for depression during pregnancy, the investigators conclude.

Michael Thase, MD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, cautions that findings from this study are preliminary, although they suggest that depression-specific acupuncture may have value in major depressive disorder in this patient population.

On the other hand, another study assessing depression-specific acupuncture in a broader population of men and women with major depressive disorder failed to find a significant effect from the modality, so evidence supporting acupuncture for the treatment of major depressive disorder is not consistent.

"Still there is reason to be cautious when prescribing antidepressants in pregnancy, and one has to weigh the pros and cons of using an antidepressant on an individual basis, he told Medscape Psychiatry.

"If these promising findings are confirmed, it would be good to have another option to complement the focused forms of psychotherapy which are currently used for antenatal depression," he added.

The study was funded by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality. The study authors and Dr. Thase have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

In the 1992 presidential
campaign, Bill Clinton was a heavy underdog to popular incumbent George H. W.
Bush. Bush was considered unbeatable due to foreign policy successes including
the end of the Cold War and routing Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War. But
Bushs approval ratings, which had been in the 90 percent range, began to dip as
his campaign ignored the economic recession. Clintons campaign manager James
Carvilles now famous campaign slogan, "Its the economy stupid," helped turn
the tide and Bill Clinton became the forty-second American president.

Just like George Bushs 1992
presidential campaign, todays medical community continues to promote the
medical myths associated with cholesterol while ignoring the real cause of
cardiovascular disease, inflammation.

Conventional opinion and
current medical dogma holds that low cholesterol, especially low LDL
cholesterol, reduces the risk and incidence of heart disease and stroke. This
belief is so entrenched in the medical community that the FDA now approves drugs
to prevent heart disease, as it did with Zetia and Vytorin, solely on the
evidence that they lower LDL cholesterol levels. Zetia has never been proven to
reduce heart attacks, strokes or death. Statin drugs help reduce the risk of
heart attack and stroke for those whove already had a cardiac event (one
percent over placebo) but fail to reduce death in women, the elderly, men over
the age of 47, and in men without cardiovascular risk factors.

A 2006 study in The
Archives of Internal Medicine looked at seven trials of statin use in
nearly 43,000 patients, mostly middle-aged men without heart disease. In that
review, statins didnt lower mortality.

Nor did they in a study known
as Prosper, published in The Lancet in 2002, which studied statin use
in people seventy and older. Nor did they in a 2004 review in The Journal of
the American Medical Association, which looked at thirteen studies of
nearly 20,000 women, both healthy and with established heart disease.

Despite a growing voice of
reason, which became even louder after the recently released Enhance study, the
cholesterol zealots continue to view cardiovascular disease with tunnel vision.
This myopic vision fuels the cholesterol drug war which rages on as each
pharmaceutical company seeks to gain economic gain in the 40 billion dollar a
year lipid lowering drug market.

In an attempt to take on the
cholesterol Goliath, Pfizers Lipitor (10 billion dollars in sales annually),
Merck and Schering-Plough combined their cholesterol lowering drugs, Zocor and
Zetia, to form the "super drug" known as Vytorin. Vytorins goal was to lower
LDL cholesterol more than either drug could alone. Zetia lowers blood
cholesterol by blocking the absorption of dietary cholesterol from the
intestines. Zetia used alone is modestly effective in lowering LDL cholesterol
by approximately 17 percent. Zocor alone lowers LDL levels by 36 percentsimilar
to Lipitor.

The hope was that by lowering
LDL to dramatically low levels, Vytorin would do a better job of slowing the
accumulation of fatty plaques in the arteries. Vytorin did, in fact, reduce
LDLby a whopping 51 percent (similar to AstraZenecas Crestor).

However, the two-year
"Enhance" trial failed to prove that Vytorin is better than Zocor alone for
slowing plaque accumulation; instead atherosclerosis worsened in those taking
Vytorin.

Merck and Schering-Plough
suppressed this finding for twenty months.

The study results were not
revealed until the two drug companies were pressured into doing so by an article
in The New York Times and a Congressional inquiry. The marketers of
Vytorin said they had nothing to hide. Its hard to believe they werent just a
little reluctant to publish their highly anticipated study. The news that
Vytorin, which retails for $100 a month and did $2 billion in sales in 2007, was
clinically inferior (perhaps even dangerous) to generic simvastatin (statin),
costing less than $20 a month, obviously wasnt what stockholders wanted to
hear.

Merck and Schering-Plough are
running full-page ads daily in the Times and Wall Street
Journal, warning people not to be confused by a single study and to
continue taking Vytorin. The advice was backed by the American Heart
Association, which the Times reported receives nearly $2 million a year
from Merck/Schering-Plough Pharmaceuticals.

Other LDL lowering drugs have
bitten the dust in the last coupe of years as well.

Pfizers trial of its
much-anticipated drug torcetrapib, which raised HDL, the good cholesterol, and
lowered LDL, had to be stopped in 2006 because the drug caused heart attacks and
strokes.

Estrogen replacement therapy,
which is known to lower LDL cholesterol levels, failed to reduce the incidence
of heart attack and stroke in clinical studies.

Ok, if cholesterol lowering
isnt the answer for everyone, why do statins help people with existing heart
disease? Dr. James K. Liao of Brigham & Womens Hospital in Cambridge,
Massachusetts, has been investigating this question for over a decade. He
suspects that statins have other biological effects. His research shows that
statin drugs not only block cholesterol, but also an inflammation-generating
enzyme known as rho-kinase.

When Liao reduced the
rho-kinase levels in rats, they didnt get heart disease. "Cholesterol lowering
is not the reason for the benefit of statins," he concludes. Of course, there
are dozens of inflammatory chemicals that play a role in triggering
cardiovascular disease. Diet, health habits, our environment, even our
personality may initiate inflammatory chemicals that perpetuate cardiovascular
disease events.

Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,
"People see only what they are prepared to see." As the evidence about
inflammation and cardiovascular disease rises, will conventional medicine and
the public at large be prepared to see that its not about lowering cholesterol
but in reducing inflammation? Hopefully, "Its the inflammation, stupid," will
become a common slogan in the campaign to fight cardiovascular disease.

Rodger Murphree, D.C., has
been in private practice since 1990. He is the founder of, and past clinic
director for a large integrated medical practice, which was located on the
campus of Brookwood Hospital in Birmingham, Alabama. He is the author of
Treating and Beating Fibromyalgia
and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Heart Disease What Your Doctor Wont Tell You,
and Treating and Beating Anxiety and Depression with Orthomolecular
Medicine. He can be reached at www.treatingandbeating.com, by email at
drrodgerm@yahoo.com or 1-205-879-2383.

LIVE LOVE LAUGHEvery day can be filled with meaning. Take a moment, just the amount of time you need to take a deep breath and exhale slowly, to ask yourself what is my dream, and how will I get there from here?What can you stop doing or do differently to simplify your life and make it more meaningful? What is truly important to you? Do you give some time each week to your true priorities?Why not fill your life with love and laughter whenever you can? There is no greater gift than the gift of loving others. There is nothing wrong with taking some time for self-care too. Love your pet? Love walking out in nature? Make time for your passions and those things that add value to your life. Your body, mind and soul will thank you.Do you have a mission in life?Dream it. Think about it. Talk about it. Commit to it.

By the age of 20, nearly 80% of us has some kind of foot problem, and by age forty almost all of us do

What Causes Foot Problems?

What are some of the most typical foot problems?

How do I know if I have pronated feet?

Since my feet don't hurt, I don't have any real problem with them  right?

What can my healthcare professional do about my foot problems?

What Causes Foot Problems?From the time you learn to walk, your feet assume three crucial functions: they support your body whenever you stand, walk, or run; they assist you in achieving movement from one place to another; and they help protect your bones and soft tissues from damaging shock stress as you move. Being overweight, having minor structural defects in the feet, or injuries  all of these factors can contribute to additional foot and body stress. So even though one-quarter of all the bones in your body are ina your feet, having to perform these three strenuous tasks day after day can (and often does) lead to some type of foot and/or body problem. It's not too surprising to learn, therefore, that by the age of twenty, nearly 80% of us have some kind of foot problem, and by age forty almost everyone does.

What are some of the most typical foot problems?Pronation is considered the most common foot problem. In pronation, some of the bones of the foot drop to a less stable position because the foot arches are too weak to keep them in proper alignment. The arches themselves may be unnaturally stretched ("flat feet"), and stress on the entire foot increases. Another common problem  one that is often found along with pronation  is plantar fascitis, a stress irritation to the sheath of elastic tissues running nearly the entire length of the foot. If not treated, either condition can lead to progressive development of foot malfunction and discomfort. Feet can become "tired and achy" or experience a burning pain, and walking can begin to feel "clumsy" as you try to move your foot in a way that avoids further pain. Foot pain means that you should make an appointment to see your healthcare professional right away.

How do I know if I have pronated feet?Your healthcare professional is best qualified to make that determination; but basically speaking, pronated feet often "flare outward" during standing or movement; your Achilles tendons and kneecaps may be rotated inward from the midline of your legs; and shoes may have heel wear on the outside and look "run over".

Since my feet don't hurt, I don't have any real problem with them  right?Wrong. Even if your feet don't hurt, the fact that your foundation has been weakened can have a potentially serious impact to the rest of your body. If you are currently having knee, hip, low back or neck pain, the reason may be because your feet aren't supporting joints, bones, or soft tissues above the ankle properly, and this lack of support has contributed to stress/pain in some other part of your body. If you are having pain in any of the areas mentioned above, ask your healthcare professional if your feet could be a contributing factor.

What can my healthcare professional do about my foot problems?Depending upon your specific condition, your healthcare professional can probably provide you with a conservative (i.e., non-surgical) treatment program that can help both your feet and your entire posture feel and function better. But before such a program begins, he or she may want to perform a complete examination, which might include checking for tenderness in the foot, analyzing your posture, taking x-rays, watching how you walk, and looking over your shoes for signs of improper wear. Based upon the findings, your healthcare professional may develop a program containing all or some of the following:

Join mobilization of the foot to stabilize your postural foundation and to help relieve related stress/pain to the rest of your body.

Use of Spinal Pelvic Stabilizers Orthotics to help the foot maintain its structural and functional balance as you stand, walk, or run. Your healthcare professional will select the orthotics best suited for you based on a variety of factors (lifestyle, health, age, weight, sex, etc.). And because most people wear at least two styles of shoes each day, your healthcare professional may determine that an orthotics Combo (two pairs) would be best for your condition. Exercise with a Thera-Ciser home-care exercise system to help build foot strength and joint stability.

Your healthcare professional may also want to advise you on lifestyle changes, such as weight reduction, proper shoe style selection, and modifying your level of physical activity.

Healthy feet are the key to your overall postural health, so follow your healthcare professional's recommendations. Ask your doctor if stabilizers or the Thera-Ciser exercise system would help you.

Dwight Freeney's ankle injury is a major story leading into this weekend's superbowl. Though the Colts have kept their cards close to the chest on the whole matter, some details have leaked as to what they are doing to treat the issue. We do know that the Colts are very active with their treatments and Freeney is using some methods that have helped him in the past. The main one is Dr. Leon Mellman, Freeney's Chiropractor, is making sure not only his ankle is getting the proper care, but is also monitoring how his newly guarded walk is effecting the rest of his body. Most notably how his lower back could be adversely affected due to his newly acquired limp. Freeney's injury is being treated as any other low ankle sprain would be in the NFL with some minor tweaks. Although he was seen in a boot very recently, he spoke openly about keeping the motion in the ankle joint to promote healing. Very recently this became common place in joint surgeries; where immediately following the surgery, the joint is put into passive motion to prevent adhesion buildup and promote a quicker recovery. Freeney was spotted walking the beach without his boot on, most likely advised by team doctors for the same reason: a quicker recovery.

According to long-awaited results from a congressionally mandated pilot project testing the feasibility of expanding chiropractic services in the Medicare program, patients have a high rate of satisfaction with the care they receive from doctors of chiropractic.

When asked to rate their satisfaction on a 10-point scale, 87 percent of patients in the study gave their doctor of chiropractic a level of 8 or higher. What's more, 56 percent of those patients rated their chiropractor with a perfect 10.

Contributing to that satisfaction was the attention given to patients' needs and the accessibility of chiropractic care. Patients reported that doctors of chiropractic listened to them carefully and spent sufficient time with them. Some 95 percent said they had to wait no longer than one week for appointments.

"Doctors of chiropractic everywhere should feel pride in these patient satisfaction results and in being part of a profession that still sees the great need for spending time with patients and truly listening to them," said Dr. Rick McMichael, president of the American Chiropractic Association (ACA). "It's clear that patients deeply value the time their chiropractic providers spend with them and the expert care that DCs offer."

The pilot, known as a "demonstration project" in Congress, was conducted from April 2005 to March 2007 throughout the states of Maine and New Mexico, and also in Scott County, Iowa, 26 counties comprising the Chicago metropolitan area, and 17 counties in central Virginia.

Current chiropractic coverage under Medicare is limited to spinal manipulation. Under the demonstration project, however, chiropractic care was expanded to include diagnostic and other services, such as X-rays, examinations, physical therapy and rehabilitation services.

The final report to Congress also includes information on the costs of expanding chiropractic services in the demonstration sites. The report indicates that in all but one of the demonstration sites, patients' health care costs were not significantly changed by expanding coverage of chiropractic services. In contrast, a cost increase was found in the Chicago metropolitan area. Further research into the reasons why the results in Chicago differ from the rest of the demonstration project sites is needed to better understand these findings.

"We already know that Medicare costs in general tend to be higher in Chicago than other similar areas of the country. We must find the underlying cause of the cost difference found in the chiropractic demonstration project and determine whether it had anything at all to do with the expansion of chiropractic services," Dr. McMichael noted.

To further analyze the results of the demonstration project, ACA is creating a taskforce of Medicare experts and researchers who will review the report and develop a response for the Centers of Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Chiropractor
Peter Morgan had just left Haiti after completing a chiropractic mission there
when the devastating earthquake struck.

"We
just had a calling to go back," said Morgan, a chiropractor on East Boston
Post Road for 25 years and founder of Mission-Chiropractic.

Morgan,
55, got together nine chiropractors and returned to the destroyed country on
Jan. 20 to give out water and rice and offer chiropractic adjustments to the
injured. They also brought five water filtration systems donated by
Connecticut-based KX Technologies.

The
group stayed with a New Rochelle cabdriver, one of Morgan's patients whose
family home was spared, and were shocked when they arrived in Pétionville, a
suburb of Port-au-Prince.

"There
was one house, (then) five houses in rubble, one house, five houses in
rubble," Morgan said.

With
carloads of supplies, Morgan and the other chiropractors visited a partially
collapsed ambulance company that was still trying to operate even as some
workers lay dead under rubble.

Morgan
adjusted ambulance workers who had back and shoulder pain from lifting debris
and patients, and left them with a water filtration system.

They
also came upon a makeshift hospital, where doctors were performing amputations
and stitching without any drugs.

Minnesota
chiropractic student Stephan Moje, who was part of Morgan's group, said that
everywhere they went the stench of death was nearly unbearable.

"The
most shocking thing for me was the smell," he said. "You needed to
cover your mouth with a hankerchief, and you had Tiger balm to put under your
nose."

Heather
Rooks, a chiropractor from Wilmington, Del., said she could feel people's
desperation as they handed out 400 pounds of rice and more than 500 gallons of
water to hundreds of people.

She
recalled riding in the car and being approached by two brothers. When one saw
she had food, his mouth started to quiver with disbelief.

"The
little kids came walking up and said, 'We're hungry. We're hungry,' and all I
had was an apple," she said. "His face was like I had a block of
gold. We gave it to them and said, 'Make sure you share.' The big brother gave
it to the little brother, and he took a bite."

Morgan
said he was struck by people's graciousness. They joined Haitians in singing
hymns and were brought to tears.

"As
we were about to leave, they put us in a circle and prayed for us," Morgan
said. "It was one of the most touching things that happened in my
life."

Morgan
is working on getting support from other chiropractors to continue to send
help.

"The
people were thanking us, and the thing they were saying most of the time was,
'Don't forget us. Please come back. Please help us,' " he recalled.

Japanese researchers have found that elderly men and women who drink 4 or more cups of green tea each day significantly reduce their likelihood of suffering from depression. When compared with those who consumed 1 or less cups of green tea daily, those consuming 4 or more cups were 44 percent less likely to suffer from depression. These effects also did not fade after they factored in social and economic status, gender, diet, history of medical problems, use of antidepressant medications, smoking, and physical activity. According to researchers, it is thought that the amino acid present in green tea, theanine, is thought to have a tranquilizing effect on the brain which may explain the beneficial effect of lowering depression related symptoms. A number of other studies have also shown green tea effective in reducing psychological stress.